Inserting into a Table

The insert statement is used to insert or add a row of data into the table.

To insert records into a table, enter the key words insert into followed by the table name, followed by an open parenthesis, followed by a list of column names separated by commas, followed by a closing parenthesis, followed by the keyword values, followed by the list of values enclosed in parenthesis. The values that you enter will be held in the rows and they will match up with the column names that you specify. Strings should be enclosed in single quotes, and numbers should not.

insert into "tablename"
 (first_column,...last_column)
  values (first_value,...last_value);

In the example below, the column name first will match up with the value 'Luke', and the column name state will match up with the value 'Georgia'.

Example:

insert into employee
  (first, last, age, address, city, state)
  values ('Luke', 'Duke', 45, '2130 Boars Nest', 
          'Hazard Co', 'Georgia');

Note: All strings should be enclosed between single quotes: 'string'

Insert statement exercises

It is time to insert data into your new employee table.

Your first three employees are the following:

Jonie Weber, Secretary, 28, 19500.00
Potsy Weber, Programmer, 32, 45300.00
Dirk Smith, Programmer II, 45, 75020.00

Enter these employees into your table first, and then insert at least 5 more of your own list of employees in the table.

insert into 
  myemployees
(firstname, lastname, 
 title, age, salary)
values ('Jonie', 'Weber', 
        'Secretary', 28, 
        19500.00);

After they’re inserted into the table, enter select statements to:

1. Select all columns for everyone in your employee table.

   Show Answer

   select * from
   myemployees;

2. Select all columns for everyone with a salary over 30000.

   Show Answer

   select * from
   myemployees
   where salary > 30000;

3. Select first and last names for everyone that’s under 30 years old.

   Show Answer

   select firstname, lastname
   from myemployees
   where age < 30;

4. Select first name, last name, and salary for anyone with “Programmer” in their title.

   Show Answer

   select firstname, lastname, salary
   from myemployees
   where title LIKE '%Programmer%';

5. Select all columns for everyone whose last name contains “ebe”.

   Show Answer

   select * from
   myemployees
   where lastname LIKE '%ebe%';

6. Select the first name for everyone whose first name equals “Potsy”.

   Show Answer

   select firstname from
   myemployees
   where firstname = 'Potsy';

7. Select all columns for everyone over 80 years old.

   Show Answer

   select * from 
   myemployees
   where age > 80;

8. Select all columns for everyone whose last name ends in “ith”.

   Show Answer

   select * from
   myemployees
   where lastname LIKE '%ith';

Create at least 5 of your own select statements based on specific information that you’d like to retrieve.

Results will be displayed here